Flag holders



Jan. 29, 1963 L. L. WINFREY FLAG HOLDERS Filed March 8, 1962 INVENTOR.lama L. mmz'r United States Patent Ofifiee 3,075,492 Patented Jan. 29,1963 3,075,492 FLAG HOLDERS Lewis L. Winfrey, 331 E. iMarket St., Xenia,Ohio Filed Mar. 8, 1962, Set. No.178,446 4 Claims. (Cl. 116-28) Thisinvention relates to holders for flags or banners, and more particularlyto holders constructed to be detachably secured to a rod or staff.

While the invention is by no means limited to such use, it is designedespecially for attaching flags or the like to motor vehicles to serve,for example, as markers or identifying means for funeral conveyances,and in this case the rod or staff to which the flagholder is applied mayconveniently be the radio antenna with which modern cars are frequentlyequipped.

Many attempts have heretofore been made to provide means for attachingflags to motor vehicles, but none of them have proven entirelysatisfactory from a practical standpoint, and some of them have not beenacceptable because of their high cost.

An object of the present invention is to devise a flagholder ofexceptionally simple construction, fabricated entirely from a singlepiece of material.

Another object is to provide a flag holder of this type which can belaterally engaged with or disengaged from a rod or staff.

A still further object of the invention is to design a flag holder ofthis character which can be produced at very low cost.

With the above and other objects in view, and to generally improve theefficiency and convenience of such devices, the invention consists inthe construction and combination of parts hereinafter described andclaimed, and illustrated, by way of example, in the accompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specification, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective View, illustrating the front of anautomobile with my improved flag holder mounted on the usual radioantenna rod;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of my improved holderitself, showing the rod and a fragment of the flag in broken lines;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation showing a flag secured to the holder;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged transverse section taken substantially on the line4-4 of FIG. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but showing a slightly modifiedarrangement; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged transverse section substantially on the line 66 ofFIG. 5, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawing in detail, my improved flag holder isdesignated in its entirety by the numeral 2 and is adapted to besupported on a rod or staff 1 such, for example, as the usual radioantenna mounted on an automobile as shown in FIG. 1.

The flag itself is made of fabric and may be either limp and flexible asshown at 3 in FIG. 1, or may be stiffened and made rigid by meanshereinafter described, as shown at 3 in FIGS. 3 and 5.

The flag is preferably of oval shape as shown in these figures, andwhether limp and flexible, as shown in FIG. 1, or rigid as shown inFIGS. 3 and 5, the end adjacent the holder is cut off on a straight lineand hemmed, as indicated at 10.

Referring now more particularly to FIG. 2, the holder 2 is formed ofsheet material such as plastic or metal and comprises an elongated body4 extending parallel with the rod or staff. From one longitudinal edgeof the body 4 project a pair of clips 5, located one near each end ofthe body. These clips are of rounded form as shown and their free edgesare opened outwardly and flared as shown at 5. The sheet material is ofa resilient nature so that the clips 5 may be snapped over the rod orstaff 1 by a lateral movement, and may be readily removed in the sameway.

At the longitudinal edge of the holder opposite the clips 5 the body isprovided with a pair of alined integral arms 7 lying in-the same planewith the body 4 and with each other. These arms are spaced from the bodyby a slot or opening 9- and a space 8 is provided between their adjacentends. A pair of holes or openings 6 is also formed in the body 4 for apurpose hereinafter described.

It will now be understood that the alined arms 7 may be inserted in thehem 1 0 of the flag by collapsing the flag and passing one end of thehem through the opening '8. This hem is clearly illustrated in brokenlines in FIG. 2, and it will be seen that when the flag is in positionon the holder, it is supported partly by each of the two arms 7, and maybe readily removed from these arms when desired.

In the rigid type of flag shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the flag is alsoformed with a peripheral hem 11 extending around the same, and a stiffwire 12 is enclosed within this hem. This wire has its free endsterminating adjacent the ends of the hem, and these free ends are bentto form hooks 13, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6. These hooked ends mayeither be passed through the openings 6 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, ormay be engaged with the ends of the opening 9, as shown in FIGS. 5 and6. In either case, the stiff wire 12 serves to maintain the fabricmaterial of the flag fully extended and to connect it rigidly with theholder 2 so that it remains in display position regardless of the wind.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a flag holder fabricated froma single piece of sheet material, and which is exceptionally simple inconstruction and low in cost, and it is thought that the many advantagesof the invention will be readily appreciated by those familiar with suchmatters.

What I claim is:

l. A flag holder constructed to be supported on a rod, and consisting ofa device made of sheet material and comprising an elongated body havingadjacent one longitudinal edge a pair of spaced, alined, resilientclips, formed integral with said body and adapted to detachably engage arod, said body having adjacent the opposite longitudinal edge a pair ofalined arms constructed to enter a hem at the end of a flag, said armsbeing integral with said body and projecting toward each other in thesame plane, the adjacent ends of said arms being separated a substantialdistance.

2. In combination a flag holder constructed to be supported on a rod,and consisting of a device made of sheet material and comprising anelongated body having adjacent one longitudinal edge a pair of spaced,alined, resilient clips, formed integral with said body and adapted todetachably engage a rod, said body having adjacent the oppositelongitudinal edge a pair of alined arms, said arms being integral withbut spaced from said body and projecting toward each other in a commonplane, the adjacent ends of said arms being separated a distancesufiicient to permit them to be inserted into the opposite ends of a hemformed at the end of a flexible flag when said flag is collapsed,whereby said flag is supported partially by each of said arms.

3. In combination a flag holder constructed to be supported on a rod,and consisting of a device made of sheet material and comprising anelongated body having adjacent one longitudinal edge a pair of spaced,alined, resilient clips, formed integral with said body and adapted todetachably engage a rod, said body having adjacent the oppositelongitudinal edge a pair of alined arms, said arms being integral withbut spaced from said body and projecting toward each other in a commonplane, a fabric flag of oval shape having one straight end formed with ahem, the adjacent ends of said arms being separated a distancesufiicient to permit them to be inserted into opposite ends of said hemwhen the flag is collapsed, said flag also having a hem around itsperiphery, a stiff wire extending through said last mentioned hem andhaving free ends projecting from said hem at a point adjacent saidstraight end of said flag, and means for anchoring said free ends tosaid holder.

4. In combination a flag holder constructed to be sup ported on a rod,and consisting of a device made of sheet material and comprising anelongated body having adjacent one longitudinal edge a pair of spaced,alined, resilient clips, formed integral With said body and adapted todetachably engage a rod, said body having adjacent the oppositelongitudinal edge a pair of alined arms, said arms being integral withbut spaced from said body and projecting toward each other in a commonplane, a fabric References Cited in the file of this patent UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 1,339,849 Johnson et al May 11, 1920 1,646,467 WaltonOct. 25, 1927 2,093,951 Bosket Sept. 21, 1937 2,30l,180 Hynek Nov. 10,1942

1. A FLAG HOLDER CONSTRUCTED TO BE SUPPORTED ON A ROD, AND CONSISTING OFA DEVICE MADE OF SHEET MATERIAL AND COMPRISING AN ELONGATED BODY HAVINGADJACENT ONE LONGITUDINAL EDGE A PAIR OF SPACED, ALINED, RESILIENTCLIPS, FORMED INTEGRAL WITH SAID BODY AND ADAPTED TO DETACHABLY ENGAGE AROD, SAID BODY HAVING ADJACENT THE OPPOSITE LONGITUDINAL EDGE A PAIR OFALINED ARMS CONSTRUCTED TO ENTER A HEM AT THE END OF A FLAG, SAID ARMSBEING INTEGRAL WITH SAID BODY AND PROJECTING TOWARD EACH OTHER IN THESAME PLANE, THE ADJACENT ENDS OF SAID ARMS BEING SEPARATED A SUBSTANTIALDISTANCE.